Five turnovers later, the Buccaneers' rookie quarterback was
stunned and their miserable season took another ugly twist.

Jonathan Stewart rushed for 120 yards and the game's only
touchdown, and the Panthers picked off Freeman five times on
Sunday - three times in or near the end zone - in a 16-6 victory
over the Buccaneers.

In a matchup of inexperienced quarterbacks entering with a
combined seven career starts, Matt Moore and the Panthers (5-7)
won despite being outgained 469-309.

The difference: Tampa Bay (1-11) was inside the Carolina 30
eight times and scored six points.

"That's just completely unacceptable," said Freeman, the
first-round pick from Kansas State who took over as the starter
a month ago. "I want to play in this league a long time. Guys
that throw a lot of picks usually don't last."

It was a role reversal with Carolina's struggling QB Jake
Delhomme sidelined with a broken finger after throwing 18
interceptions in 11 games.

Moore made his fourth start and his first since the end of the
2007 season. He threw for 161 yards and one interception, but
connected on a 66-yard pass to Steve Smith that set up John
Kasay's third field goal with 7:12 left that put it away.

"I had to come into this thing and I had to be right," Moore
said. "Not perfect, but I had to be right."

That allowed the defense to win the game. Jon Beason had two
interceptions during a stretch where Tampa Bay had four trips
inside the 20 and didn't score.

Freeman, in his fifth pro start, completed 23 of 44 passes for a
career-high 321 yards. Carnell "Cadillac" Williams rushed for 92
yards, but poor throws at costly times doomed the Bucs.

"Up until this point, he had been really great in the red zone,"
Bucs coach Raheem Morris said of Freeman. "Today, he just made
some bad decisions."

His biggest error came on fourth-and-goal from the 2 with the
Bucs trailing 13-6 early in the fourth quarter. Chris Harris
picked him off in the end zone.

Freeman was twice intercepted by Beason in the third quarter,
once in the end zone with Carolina leading 10-6, and again near
the goal line after Carolina had taken a seven-point lead. That
came one play after Chris Gamble had fumbled a punt to give
Tampa Bay the ball at the 20.

With Connor Barth hitting the upright on a 36-yard field goal
and missing a 42-yarder later, the Bucs spent the brisk day
wasting opportunities and another solid defensive performance
after Morris took over the playcalling.

With thousands of empty seats, it was a much different
atmosphere from their Monday night meeting here last season when
both teams were 9-3 and vying for the NFC South lead,
short-handed Carolina was just good enough to snap a two-game
losing streak in its disappointing season.

"We still have a lot to play for other than playoffs," Panthers
fullback Brad Hoover said. "There are jobs on the line."

The Panthers were without running back DeAngelo Williams, who
entered as the NFL's fourth-leading rusher with 1,022 yards but
injured his ankle a week earlier against the Jets.

It gave Stewart his first career start, and he rushed for 82
yards in the first half, including a 3-yard touchdown run on the
first possession.

Stewart had a career-high 26 carries, meaning Moore had to do
less. He threw just 20 passes, completing 14.

"He had a lot of pressure on him through the week and he
responded well," receiver Muhsin Muhammad said.

The Panthers took a 10-0 first-quarter lead when Kasay became
only the seventh kicker with 400 career field goals. The
Buccaneers got back in the game behind receiver Antonio Bryant,
who complained last week that he wanted a bigger role in the
offense. He caught five passes for 116 yards, including catches
of 40 and 20 yards that set up two field goals.

Bryant made another miraculous one-handed grab along the left
sideline in double coverage early in the second half. But
Freeman was picked off on the next play in the end zone by
Beason, playing less than a week after his arrest on a
misdemeanor assault charge.

It was that kind of day for Tampa Bay, with Freeman's final pick
by Gamble with 18 seconds left. Charles Godfrey had Carolina's
other interception.

"I don't know if he was rattled or not," Godfrey said. "He threw
us a couple of balls and we caught them."

NOTES: The Bucs were without top CB Aqib Talib (hamstring). ...
Bucs RT Jeremy Trueblood leveled Gamble well after the play to
stall a first-half drive. "It's just unacceptable," Morris said.
... Bucs KR Clifton Smith sustained his second concussion
against Carolina this season on the opening kickoff and didn't
return. ... Panthers DE Tyler Brayton (head) and LB Na'il Diggs
(ribs) were banged up.